Dj Khalil is not only my not only my partner in Self Scientific, he is my best friend.  I see no lines between his family and mine, and members of his family have been MAJOR inspirations and mentor’s in my life.  One of these people was Khalil’s father Mahdi Abdul-Rahman (Walt Hazzard).  Self Scientific is special because Khalil and I share a link through our parents that we didn’t discover until we had already decided that we were friends.  Khalil and I met when we were in the 8th grade, at the Superstar Basketball Camp.  Although we lived in different areas, and went to different schools we always stayed in contact.  It was through basketball that we discovered our mutual love of Hip-Hop and obscure, underground shit like UltraMagnetic MC’s and GangStarr.  One day when our parents finally met they realized that they had known each other when they were younger.  My parents and Khalil’s parents once lived in a building that Muhammad Ali owned in an area known as The Dons in Los Angeles.  My mother remembered Khalil’s mother and of course her husband, Walt.  When they met Walt Hazzard was already an accomplished basketball player on his way to the NBA. What I remember my Mom saying most was she thought her name [Khalil's Mom] was Pat.  I knew Khalil’s mother as Jalessa.  During his NBA career Walt Hazard became a Muslim and changed his name to Mahdi-Abdul Rahman, Pat became Jalessa. So when my mother finally realized who I was talking about all the time, it was like Khalil and I were meant to be friends.

I began to study Islam when I was 14 years old.  My interest started with the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and the Nation of Gods and Earths.  When I met Khalil’s father, from a distance, I was always fascinated with his conversion to Al-Islam.  I remember being at Khalil’s house and I would see Coach…I wanted to ask him questions about Al-Islam and the differences between NOI and Muslims who pray 5 times a day so bad, but I never had the courage, at the time I felt like maybe I didn’t have enough knowledge to form the right question.  Instead I would , and still do, ask Khalil all the questions that I didn’t have the courage to ask brother Mahdi myself.  I could go on for days explaining the impact brother Mahdi had in my personal development but the thing I will remember the most was his dedication to Islam and the excellence he showed me through his children and loved ones.  I am now a Muslim, and can only hope to be half the father and human being that he was.  Several years ago, I had the pleasure of going to the Masjid and praying directly across from him, with Khalil’s brother Ansar.

A successful Blackman with an Islamic identity, strong moral fiber  and family values.

Thank YOU

R.I.P.

Mahdi Abdul Rahman

Where do I start? I have been so busy since releasing Trials Of The Blackhearted that it has been hard to update the blog.  I have never been one to keep a schedule, but lately it has been increasingly more necessary for me to be organized.  I have a lot of opportunities and projects that are more like small industries. These ideas require some planning and forethought, as well as day to day work, and I cant afford to pay a whole staff so, unfortunately the blog suffers.  The good thing is I am on the verge of

presenting the fruit of some that forethought and planning through several creative and business mediums.

I believe in building communities, and anyone who frequents this site and scrolls through the pages of this blog I consider a member of this community.  So it’s only right that I preview some of the stuff I am rambling about, right here.  Tell a friend. Build the community.

Project : Harun

Harun is a brand I started that creates and reappropriates , authentic articles of culture.  It also is my first name, in Arabic.  I am a fan of Japanese artisans and their ability to take an inspiration and translate it through their perspective.  My idea with Harun, is to make, and re-package items from the vast cultural spectrum I have come across in my short lifetime, with a modern and sophisticated feel.  Much like my favorite Japanese brands take an American influence and re-interpret it.  The brand represents all of the influences that made a generation of young black men such as myself, realize that the world we see, is not necessarily the world we live in…will play out through Harun.

The first product for Harun will be a fragrance we call No.7.  The base oil is something I have personally worn for a long time and my brother and partner, Mos Def developed the top note.  The combination make what I believe, is one of the most pleasant scents I have ever smelled. Here’s a lil info:

Harun -No. 7- is a special blend of woodsy, spicy, Indian attar, with a refreshing citrus top note.  We combine original oils in their purest form to create a warm and invigorating scent with robust tones evoking sensibilities of strength yet still maintaining a unisex benefit .  The oils are bottled in Brooklyn, NY the cultural epicenter of America’s greatest city and contain Imported Attar from the Kamauj Uttar Padesh region of India. Harun -no. 7- is 100% natural and is free of alcohol and chemicals.  In the tradition of the original oils (attar) Harun -No.7- can be used a a fragrance for the home or for the body. Natural fragrance oils are affordable because they are concentrated, a small bottle will last the user several weeks, if not months.

These will be available in October , I will tell you where soon. Tell somebody. Build The Community.

This is an older song, from around 2007. The closest thing to a typically West Coast song we have probably ever made…let me know what y’all think. We rarely release material that we don’t plan on using but , fuck it.

SELF SCIENTIFIC – BUILD OR BANGERS

Diamond Supply Co. - Diamond Cut Hi - Sample (Unreleased)

It seems like I am always coming up with really good ideas, that I don’t quite have the resources to pull off.  I will get the idea up and running, but realize later in the process, that maybe the ideas is ahead of it’s time.  For this reason, I have been involved in a lot of things that I forget about.  I forget about them not because I don’t remember them, but because I get frustrated when I see it happen a year, or two, later.  It usually dawns on me as something that should be, but just hasn’t been done yet.  When I come up with these ideas, I begin to get paranoid, realizing that “I can’t be the only person thinking of this”.  Often times, my paranoia is right.  The best product ideas come from realizing a void in the market, or an obvious facet of a brand that hasn’t been exploited.  This idea was the latter. Continued after the click. . .

Nick Tershay, (who owns a brand called Diamond Supply Co.), and I had known each other for 2 years or so and I would always harass him about starting his own shoe line.  Nick’s brand gained international recognition with their Nike SB collaboration known as The Tiffany Dunk.   The Tiffany Dunk created a “cult” customer for Diamond.  Soon after, the Tiffany dunk debuted the cult grew even larger with the release of the Diamond Misfits Tee.  I would always explain to Nick how there was a real void in the marketplace for a sneaker brand that was authentically skate but also very fly.  This was something Nick already knew but he was enjoying the success of a hot clothing brand, and a new store on Fairfax Blvd.  I think he was concentrating more on keeping the graphics for the line popping, than spending money on making shoes. However, my good friend and business partner, Jerry Meng  had a connection to a shoe manufacturer in El Monte, CA.  I had the idea I would convince Nick to try his hand at developing some original Diamond Supply Co. sneakers and hook him up with Jerry’s manufacturer in El Monte.

In my head we were going to help Nick develop the shoes and establish a sneaker that could rival DVS, Lakai, and Etnies.  Only problem was this manufacturer specialized in sheepskin boots and dress shoes, not skate shoes.  The process of figuring out the two rounds of samples we did, took about a year.  Going back and forth with the factory in China, was difficult and it was clear after the second round of samples that maybe this wasn’t the right company to develop the Diamond Supply shoes.  Nick eventually lost confidence (and a pair of Gucci sneakers) because he could see that this manufacturer wasn’t going to be able to produce the quality of product he was looking to achieve.  I think we all could see that.  In any case, the project never came to fruition but the samples we produced received some love on the blogs, despite their resemblance to some very popular sneakers. That was a proud moment.

Eventually, Diamond Supply Co. did a deal with a real shoe manufacturer, the same company that produces Lakai.  Recently, Nick did a segment on MTV2 about his brand, where he revealed a sneak peak of the debut Diamond Supply Co. shoe line, and the shoes look a million times better than the samples we produced.  The special was shot at our store (Prohibit NYC) and this all came back to me as I tried on several pairs. They look and feel great, and these were just the samples. I am sure the shoes will fly off the shelves and the part about me trying to do this two years before it actually happened, will never get told in the company bio, or in interviews, so I figured I should tell the story myself. . .another idea before it’s time, at this point I am getting used to this feeling.  However, I am getting better at realizing the right time to do things.

DJ Khalil in the Kush video

I can’t even explain to you how proud I am of this brother.  My best friend on earth, and partner in Self Scientific is reaching levels of success that we only dreamed of, and it is truly inspiring.  In case you didn’t know Khalil has been working with Dre on the much anticipated album Detox.  He also produced the lead single Kush, and he has never smoked, haha. 2011 is going to be great for him and his production team. This is surreal to me.  BARS!!!

My brother, partner in Self Scientific. and one of the best people in the world DJ Khalil.  Caught in the studio where he makes magic, rocking the Power To The People Piece.

Chace Infinite logo on a Nike Nylon Destroyer Varsity Jacket. I am not stunting, I am just saying. Don’t ask me how. “I was a tastemaker way before you haters had a term for one”

Chairman Fred Hampton, at my house in Brooklyn, NY

Last year I designed a key piece for the Prohibit Winter 2009 line.  The garment was called the Prohibit Resistance Stadium Jacket. The Jacket was inspired by a vintage Military Varsity piece , that highlighted various cities of battle during WWII.  Being as though we are inspired by resistance movements, I decided that our piece should pay homage to the people who have sacrificed their lives in the name of resisting oppressive governments.  I would sit in the backroom of Prohibit NYC for hours researching names and movements that would apply to this concept, and how we would incorporate them into the Jacket.  Shin Nishigaki and I would go over various statements, people, and movements that impacted the struggle for justice and found many noteworthy concepts, but it took a while to come across the statement that best described the point we were trying to convey.  This process carried on for about a month.  The one excerpt that truly stuck out in my mind was a simple yet timeless statement made by the deputy Chairman of Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, Chairman Fred Hampton. . .”You can kill the revolutionary, but can’t kill the Revolution”. We decided that this statement would be the centerpiece for the garment and placed it on the front of the jacket in elegant cursive. On the back we placed the birth dates and assassination dates of key Revolutionaries in history a list that includes Malcom X, Che Guevara, Martin Luther King Jr., Bobby Hutton and of course Chairman Fred Hampton.  The jacket made an incredible statement and added historical relevance to our Winter line, not to mention artist such as Black Thought, Jay Electronica made several appearances in it.

Jay Electronica in the Prohibit NYC Stadium Jacket at Prohibit NYC

Recently I met Chairman Fred Hampton Jr.  My brother and revolutionary Dedan Kasimu was doing some work with the brother in NY and showed up to  my house to build one morning.  At first, I thought the Jehova’s Witnesses were making another uninvited appearance at my doorstep, but was surprised when I looked out of my living room window.  The first thing I did was show Chariman Fred the Stadium Jacket, and he was pleased to see that his fathers words were being used to create dialog in the form of clothing. We spent the next hour listening to the brother explain the evolution of “street tribes”or gangs, truly a blessing. I regret that we didnt make a 4x in the jacket, I would love for him to have one more than any rapper or so called taste maker living.  This was definitely one of the highlights of my year so far.  Meeting the son of Chairman Fred Hampton, the man who is continuing, and furthering the platform started by his father, was a special moment for me.

Point blank, they just don’t make men cut from this cloth anymore.  For more information on the Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. read here.

If you don’t know much about Chairman Fred Hampton I suggest you watch The Murder of Fred Hampton

I recently had the pleasure of formally meeting a person I have a lot of respect for, David Banner. It’s crazy because Banner and I have a couple of mutual friends that have mentioned to me on ocassion “you need to meet Banner”. When I was working at Priority records, I began to work closely with my good friend Ras Kass, (who I consider to be one of the illest MC’s ever). Ras Kass and David Banner are close friends, and I remember back then, Ras would often speak highly of him. Fast forward 10 years later (time flies!), Banner, who now lives in Los Angeles, has been doing some work with my brothers the Strong Arm Steady, and Phil the Agony keeps telling me “my nigga, you gotta meet Banner..y’all the smart niggas”. Needless to say my the homies were right, David Banner is indeed a powerful brother, and I was honored we had the chance to build. He played me some select songs from DEATH OF A POPSTAR his collaboration album with some guy named 9th WONDER.

Speaking of 9th WONDER, on the same day I meet with Banner, 9th Wonder texts me out of nowhere to ask me for a Africa piece (a bigger Africa Piece) to rock on 106 & Park with David Banner, how ill is that? When 9th got to NY yesterday he came through and grabbed the pieces (Red & Black) I had made for him. Sure enough, he rocked them yesterday , on 106 & Park.

Don Will – Tanya Morgan

Che Grand

Beef (Shameless) & a brother from the company Cookies & Cream